Project Alternia
by Actress4TheLord
Summary: Karkat and his friends have lived in this facility for as long as they can remember. They know they were probably human long ago, but now they're experiments, genetically modified kids known as trolls. Welcome to Project Alternia, a top secret, highly illegal, scientific project where life is a matter of obey or die, and your mind, body, and heart can be crushed in an instant. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, so this I'd my first homestuck fan fiction, so please be nice. Im sorry of you think its OOC for some of the characters not to curse, but, hey, I figured that's okay since I was definitely not going to write those particular words in any piece of writing. Now, um, Im going to kick this off by saying Im sorry in advance for subjecting you my introduction chapter, where nothing really happens. Except toward the end but that's beside the point. Please give me a chance and read the whole chapter! Thank you! :3**

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There's nothing like a taser to your back to wake you up in the morning.

"Ow, ow! I get it, I get it, I'm up!" Karkat shouted angrily at the handler. "Remember, if you put a scratch on me, the boss'll kill you."

He got no reply. He never did. No one cared to right now, and when it didn't suit them, no one talked to the experiments. To them, they were animals. Not people, not even prisoners. But Karkat didn't spare any thoughts for this, it was normal for him. The tazer barely hurt anyways. It was time for his morning routine.

He stood up carefully, rubbing the sleep out of his yellow eyes. His grey tinted skin looked dark in the dim lighting. He knew he didn't even have to start getting ready until the morning announcement rang through the cell rooms, but walked over to the rusted sink anyways and turned on the tap. It was cold, as always, but it felt good as he splashed it into his face, his rumpled black hair getting slightly wet. He could hear several of the others getting up as well in the nearby cells. A muttered curse, tired feet shuffling along the ground, the quiet sound of water running from the faucet.

Things were quiet around here in the mornings. No one felt the need to speak, since it would only be ignored. Karkat took a deep breath and stretched, his hard worked muscles complaining after sleeping on the same hard metal surface he had known all his life.

The overhead speakers crackled to life, _"Attention all experiments. It is six-thirty and time for the day to begin. You will report to your first test in fifteen minutes or be flogged. Don't be late." _

It was the same announcement every morning, and Karkat had become so accustomed to it, he barely noticed as it blared through the halls. After giving one last enormous stretch, he grabbed his oversized shirt and pulled it on over his stubby orange horns. It comes halfway down his thighs. Everyone here wears the same clothes, of the same size, even though they were all different. Karkat was on the smaller end of the scale, so both his shirt and sweatpants are baggy and long on him. He hates to admit it, but other than maybe one exception, He's probably the shortest one here.

He gave half an attempt to tame his unruly hair, but as usual, gave up and turned to the guard at the cell door.

Through the bars, he grumbled, "Hey, retard. I need out."

The gaurd unlocked the door and let him out, knowing he won't try anything. Karkat isn't a troublemaker. He might be rude and obnoxious as heck, but he's not stupid. He won't make a run for it, or attack anyone.

Before breakfast every morning, each experiment dragged themselves to their testing room to experience the joys of being a genetically altered human being, or troll, as they called it. Today, Karkat figured he would get either some sort of physical test like sprinting for an hour non-stop, or a chemical test. He hated those. They were always injecting things into him, seeing how his "advanced" body would react. Usually, it was pain. Occasionally something ridiculous would happen, like his grey skin would turn purple or something.

He walked the through the halls, saw a flash of claws and black hair, and suddenly he was on the ground, underneath a small troll with sparkling olive colored eyes.

"Hey Karkitty!" She beamed.

"Off! Get off Nepeta!"He shoved her away angrily. "We're gonna be late, and then we'll both be in trouble."

He got up and tried to leave her behind, only to realize she was still following him.

"Karkitty, wait up!" She giggled.

"Stop calling me that. My name is Karkat. Got it? Kar-Kat." He grumbled as he stalked forward.

"Okay, Karkitty!"

Karkat sighed.

He stopped by a door labeled "Room 33. Leijon, Nepeta. Leijon, Meulin."

"I believe this is your stop." He told her, gesturing to the door.

She giggled and waved bye as she pushed the door open and went in, leaving Karkat to his thoughts. He breathed a silent thanks and went on his merry way.

The halls were dark and humid, a stark contrast to the overly lit, white testing rooms. There were two subjects to a room, one older, one younger. Some pairings were good. Like Nepeta and Meulin or Kanaya, a friend of Karkat's, and Porrim. Others... Were less so. Kankri and Karkat for example. Karkat hated Kankri, but he never seemed to get a clue and shut up. Another was Aradia and Damara. One was cheerful and excited, and the other was... Well... Damara. Some were almost like siblings. Always fighting, but also looking out for one another. Aranea and Vriska was one example, another being Mituna and Sollux.

_ Karkat had long since memorized all the rooms that held trolls. _

_Room 69, Kankri and Karkat Vantas._

_ Room 00, Damara and Aradia Megido._

_ Room 1, Rufioh and Tavros Nitram. _

_Room 2, Mituna and Sollux Captor. _

_Room 33, Meulin and Nepeata Leijon. _

_Room 30, Porrim and Kanaya Maryam. _

_Room 413, Latula and Terezi Pyrope._

_ Room 8, Aranea and Vriska Serket. _

_Room 100, Horrus and Equius Zahhak._

_ Room 206, Kurloz and Gamzee Makara._

_ Room 7, Cronus and Eridan Ampora. _

_Room 6 , Meenah and Feferi Peixes. _

Karkat approached his door with a sigh. 'Room 69. Vantas, Karkat. Vantas, Kankri.' He pushed it open to see Kankri already sitting on the metal table, waiting for Karkat and their nurse.

"Ah, Karkat, cutting it a bit close you think? Of course, there was probably something holding you up in the halls. I wouldn't want to scold you for something that wasn't your fault in the slightest, or maybe you were catching up with a friend. Socialization is always a healthy thing in out less then perfect living situation and environment. I mean, if one were to go through all of this without friends to talk to or even see then one would most likely fall into a state of depression, and that would only worsten the-"

He was interrupted as a woman with long black hair and brown eyes entered the room. She was wearing the standard white lab coat and a name tag. Karkat didn't have to look at it to know that her name was Dr. Angelina Winters, and that she was higher authority than the gaurds and caretakers, but lower than the scientists and the boss.

Karkat and Kankri were lucky to have her as their nurse, since she was one of the nicer ones. The Captors had an especially nasty one, as did the Nitrams. The Serkets' nurse would be pretty bad if Vriska didn't intimidate her. The Maryams had a pretty nice one, along with the Peixes. The Pyropes' nurse was bad at first, but I think he grew kind of fond of them, so it's not as bad anymore. The Makaras' nurses kept disappearing.

Dr. Winters looked over Kankri and Karkat quickly, sighing. "Karkat, how much sleep did you get last night?"

He grunted angrily. "It's not like I can even get much sleep with those hard metal benches we sleep on."

She gave him a look, knowing perfectly well that it wasn't the benches, it was Karkat's refusal to sleep until his body forced him to. He might have slept two hours last night at most. "Why do you do this?"

Kankri butted it. "I think it might be an act of rebellion. Perhaps Karkat feel like he need to compromise the testing with the only way he knows how, because-"

"Kankri." Dr. Winters interrupted, "I'm stopping you now because I know you'll go on forever, and then you'll both be late for breakfast."

She pushed Kankri lightly off the table, gesturing that Karkat was first today. She took out a few tools, and quickly, with ease of practice, took his blood, checked his heartbeat, ears, eyes, nose, throat, and reflexes, then moved on to Kankri. After she finished with that, she told them both to roll up their sleeves for an injection.

"Chemical test today, boys. Sorry, but this one might hurt a bit. Hopefully not much..." She started with Kankri, smoothly releasing a clear liquid into his veins through a needle. He waited a moment, then commented, "I don't feel anything different yet. Later today, maybe?"

Dr. winters nodded, "Probably take a couple hours. Time enough for you to enjoy your breakfast."

She injected the same substance into Karkat and put the needles away. "You know the drill. Free to roam for a few minutes untill the announcement comes on."

Karkat immediately stood up and left he room, not in a hurry to spend any longer than necessary with Kankri. He didn't get far before the speakers announced, _"Breakfast is ready. Experiments have 45 minutes to eat and get to their next station." _

Karkat headed off towards his destination, running into a friend on the way there.

"Hey KK."

"Hey."

And that's all they said on the way to the mess hall. There was no need for anything else. Sollux and Karkat knew each other better than anyone else here. If Karkat were to ask him how he was, he'd say, with that idiotic lisp of his, '_Awful. Expect anything else? You?_' To which Karkat would say, '_Horrible. Let's move on._' And they would.

They arrived at the mess hall not two minutes later, weaving our way through the maze of halls without any difficulty. Their destination wasn't silent though. Everyone was always taking meals as an opportunity to socialize, so it was fairly loud. There was the usual meaningless chatter, along with a few loud laughs and a groan every now and then. But there were a few things that caught his attention. Whispers of something mysterious, though he only heard snippets of phrases.

"Some new kids"

"Fresh from the city"

"Not even experimented on"

_ "Won't last a day." _

He shrugged it off. Probably just rumors.

Sollux and Karkat walked quietly up to the line and got their food. Cold eggs, soggy bread, stale water. That was always what they ate, and Karkat never known different, so it really wasn't all that bad. He sat down near the back of the room, at the same table he sat at every day. Sollux did the same. They ate in contented silence for all of ten seconds before a grinning, overly excited girl plopped down next to Karkat with a loud,

"Karkles, my gosh, your so quiet it's depressing!"

He sighed. "What do you want Terezi?"

"Can't a girl sit next to her friend without being questioned?" She asked innocently, her clouded red eyes showing a glint of mischief.

"Now you're just being dumb. You _always_ want something." He pointed out, glaring at her even though she couldn't see it.

She leaned in, grinning. "Have you heard the rumors?"

"No."

"Yes you have."

"No, I really haven't."

Sollux rolled his mismatched eyes, watching the two of us with mild amusement. "You guys are such idiots."

"Well I don't see you trying to deal with Redglare here, Captor."

"I know better, thank you very much."

"Yeah, you just don't know how to shut your mouth."

"Look who's talking, Nubs McShouty."

"Four eyes."

"Loud mouth."

"Lizard tongue."

Terezi laughed, "Girls, please, you're both pretty."

Karkat grumbled, but Sollux just grinned smugly. He did shut up though. Terezi hadn't forgotten about her original task.

"_The rumors_, Karkles! You had to have heard."

"I haven't heard anything."

"Well, they say there are some new kids here. Four of them. Just arrived an hour ago."

"That's just stupid stuff Serket made up. You know how she is about-"

Just then, a loud noise sounded above the chatter. It was footsteps and someone yelling down the hall.

"LET ME GO, YOU IDIOT! I'LL CALL THE COPS! DONT YOU KNOW THE PUNISHMENT FOR KIDN-" The voice, obviously female, was cut off and replaced by a muffled, "mrphmmmphrph."

The footsteps got louder, and a girl with long black hair and big round glasses was shoved through the door, followed by three others. Another girl and two boys.

The speaker starlted Karkat as it came on. _"Attention all experiments. The new arrivals are to be treated with caution. Any experiment that harms the newbies will be severely punished. That is all." _

Everyone simply stared at the new kids in shock. The first thing to break the silence was the new kids. The boys.

"Oh my gosh."

"John."

"Oh."

"John."

"My gosh."

"John."

"OH MY GOSH, HOLY CRAP!"

"_John_."

"THESE KIDS ARE GREY, AND THEY HAVE HORNS AND-"

"_JOOOOOHN_!"

"What?!"

"Calm your over-caffeinated self down."

_ "Well, what do you expect from me? We were just kidnapped, and then thrown in here to_ _find a whole bunch of kids our age with grey skin and horns and yellow eyes like some kind of demon from the movies and-" _

"John."

The kid took a deep breath and quieted.

"That's better."

It was silent for a moment, then someone burst out laughing. Everyone turned to look at Vriska, who just laughed more and said, "That was hilarious! Like, you don't even know! I like you _'John_'. You're funny."

She gave him a good long look. "And... Y'know, your kinda cute."

John balked, and the guy next to him started to chuckle, which led to the girl who was yelling earlier to start giggling. The laughter got louder, and John joined in, and by the time they calmed down, even the dark looking girl with blonde hair had begun to laugh quietly, one delicate hand raised to cover her mouth.

Terezi smirked, then leaned in to Karkat and whispered, "They have no idea what's in store for them."

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**So if you got this far, thank you and please, please review! Another note. All the room numbers have something behind them. Some of them are really obvious, but others just seem random, let me explain. So, the Megidos. I just thought 00 would be appropriate for Aradia in particular, because she uses zeros in her typing quirk. Um, for the Maryams, I used 30 because... Oh wait... I forgot. I might remember later. The Nitrams, I used 1 because Rufioh used 1 instead of i in his typing quirk. For the Makaras, and this one was difficult to figure one out, I used 206 because there are 206 bones in the human body and Kurloz has an association to bones. I was really stumped on the Amporas... So this is what I came up with: Eridan uses White science, which is actually magic, which makes him a wizard, and there are 7 books in the Harry Potter series, so therefore they had room number 7. Stupid, I know. And for the Peixes, the trident they carry has 6 prongs total. Ok, sorry for the long authors note. Again, please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Whoa, hey I'm back, and so soon! Ok, not that soon, but whatever. This chapter is... Let's just say of I left this chapter out, it would make no difference in the plot. But, it was funny and would be a shame to not post it. Also... Sorry about the lack of interaction from Dave, Jade, and Rose, but I will write more of them later, they just wont be as focused on. And, whatever it sounds like in the first chapter, this is NOT a JohnXDave Fic. So... Enjoy!**

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John stifled the last of his giggles, eyeing Dave with a look of relief. This past day... no, past week, had been such a nightmare, he need those precious few moments of happiness. Dave looked back at him the same way behind his shades. The two were best friends, despite the fact that Dave was a cool kid and John was a total dork. It was kind of cute, at least that's what Jade said. Rose simply said their friendship was healthy for both of them.

John looked around one more time, careful not to freak out. He saw 24 kids around his age, some maybe older, and a few gaurds, observing quietly. The kids were the strangest looking people he had ever seen. They had grey skin, which showed evidence for recent bruises, he noted. Their eyes were strange to. Not only did the irises have a much wider range of color than normal people - and this was saying something, due to the gemstone blue of his own eyes, the deep purple of Rose's, the firery red of Dave's, and the grass green of Jade's - but the whites of their eyes also glowed yellow. They had sharp, pointed teeth and thick black hair. The strangest thing, by far, was their orange and yellow horns, which varied in length and shape. Two of them had tiny, nubby looking horns, while two had tall, wavy, pointed horns. It took John only a moment to notice all these things.

"Um, hi?" He said awkwardly, grinning.

The other kids started to whisper amongst themselves, obviously about John and his friends. It bothered him a little.

"Hey, if you're gonna talk about us, you might as well just talk _to_ us." He said loudly.

No one answered. It was like they had no experience dealing with other people. Which, now that he thought about it, seemed very probable. Locked up in here with only all these mean gaurds and each other... It seemed horrible. It was then John realized he was now in the exact same situation.

It all came crashing down, the weight of what was happening. He had been _kidnapped_. Kidnapping was something that happened to other kids, in different towns and different countries, not to him and his friends. It was unreal. And now he was in a room filled with...

_With kids. _

With kids just like him but... Different. Different in possibly a million ways and yet still the same.

Finally, to his relief, one of them gestured for John and his friends to come over to their table. The table was relatively empty, with space for probably 8-10 people, but only three sat there. One one was a boy with stubby horns and cherry red eyes, a shade or two lighter than Dave's. He looked like he hadn't slept in a while. John bet he looked the same way. Another was a guy with weird red and blue glasses, and two horns on each side of his head. As the guy quietly ate his food, John noticed that he had a yellow tinged, forked tongue. The last was a girl with red shades and pointed horns. She unsettled John a little.

The first guy gestured impatiently for the newbies to sit down. "Well, don't just stand there like idiots. You've attracted enough attention as it is."

They sat, John opposite of Nubby Horns, and Dave and Rose sat either sides of John. Jade plopped down on the other side of Dave. This was a slight variation of the way they sit... _Used to_ sit on the park bench outside their school everyday at lunch.

John cleared his throat and awkwardly said, "So..."

Just then, the girl with red shades leaned across the table and took a big sniff of Dave's red shirt, giving a giggle of delight. "I thought I smelled the delectable scent of cherry red!"

She got up and crawled over the table to squish herself between Dave and Jade, sitting far closer than anyone thought was necessary. Jade was able to scoot several inches over, but there was nowhere for Dave to move.

"Uh..."

She cackled and gripped his arm, sniffing him again and laughing as he fidgeted uncomfortably. The guy with candy eyes continued eating like it was totally normal for someone to jump over a table while everyone was eating and practically inhale someone.

"So, _John_, welcome to a fate worse than death." He said, quite matter-of-factly.

John looked around and asked, "What... What's going on here?"

The guy with red and blue glasses said looked up and sighed. "Well, what do you think? Genetic experiments. Obvious, isn't it?"

John stared. "Really? Woah... That's crazy!"

Nubby Horns spoke up again, "Well, what did you think? That we were aliens?"

The other guy smirked. "Probably did, the idiot."

"I mean, what planet would we even come from, Mars?"

The girl laughed. "No, duh, we'd be from another universe."

"Oh, right, because it's way more plausible for us to come from trillions upon trillions of light years away, rather than just the next planet over."

"Of course not. But we'd have some awesome transport that makes it possible. We could like, ride a meteor or something."

"Terezi, that's stupid. How would we even _breathe_?"

"I don't know! I was just saying stuff! Oh, we could live on a planet called Alternia!"

"That's the worst name I've ever heard."

John watched this whole exchange, a grin creeping its way into his face.

"What are you smiling about?"

John looked at Nubby Horns. "You guys are funny."

"We are not."

"Are too. Hey, I never got your name"

He grumbled, "Karkat. Not so terribly pleased to meet you."

"Sollux," lisped the red and blue guy.

John smiled, "Tholluth? Cool name."

He flushed a yellowish color, embarrassed, and looked back at his food. "No..."

Karkat rolled his eyes. "_Sollux_."

The girl grinned, "I can smell you delicious honey flavored embarrassment, Sol!"

"Shut up."

"I'm Terezi, by the way. But you can call me Redglare: The Blind Justice!"

"Don't call her that, it only encourages her." Karkat muttered.

"Party pooper."

Conversation went on like this for the next ten minutes. Playful banter, wrapped up in sour attitudes and insults. Dave, Rose, and Jade introduced themselves, and everyone seemed to get along. Of course, except for Karkat, who didn't seem to get along with anyone.

An announcement crackled to life,_ "All experiments report to your rooms. You have 10 minutes. One experiment may be allowed to show the Newbies to the cells, and they will be picked up from there." _

The girl who had laughed at John and Dave earlier immediatly stood up and sauntered towards them, a sly grin on her face.

"I'll take it from here, _Losers_."

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**So, haha, I had fun with this chapter! Like... A lot. Anywho, review! Tell me what you liked, didn't like, what you think I could improve on, and what you might like to see in the future! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry, this chapter is really short and really bad. Pretty much I considered not posting this chapter, but I thought, meh, I wrote it, so why not? And... A little JohnVris in this chapter, but... I'm not sure if I'm going to actually have them get together. Wwhatevver. If it happens it happens. It won't be a major plot point if it does.**

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John looked at the girl in front of him and grinned. She looked like all the others, grey skin, black hair, horns. Her eyes were weird. In one eye, she had a deep, cerulean blue color, which was normal enough, but in the other, there were 7 pupils. Eight eyes total. One of her horns went strait up, but then hooked downward like a claw. The other had a half-moon kind of shape facing up at the end. She had this sly, mischievous smile, like she was plotting something.

"Hi, I'm John."

"I know that, Idiot. I'm The Marquise Spinnerette Mindfang."

"Seriously? Mark-ee? That's your name?"

"No. Marquise. It's a title. Duh."

Terezi butted in, "That's not her name."

"Fiiiiiiiine, it's not my name. It's Vriska."

John smiled. "That's... A lot easier to remember. And, this is Dave, Rose, and Jade."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, c'mon." She said impatiently.

She grabbed John's wrist and pulled him along after her, racing through the halls until the sound of the others filing out of the mess hall faded away, leaving only the sounds of the five of them breathing. Vriska slowed down and turned to give all four of them a good look. She looked them up and down, noting how they had not yet changed into their Project Alternia garb.

She smirked. "Hey, I want to talk to John. You three can go ahead. Door at the end of the hall. Find the cells that have your names on them."

Dave shook his head. "No way. Either John comes with us or we stay here."

Vriska looked annoyed. "Uuuugh. Fussy, aren't you? I promise he'll be there in a sec, I just want to..." She grinned, "Give him some friendly advice."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I don't see it wise to trust you, actually. Something about you makes me think you lie rather often."

"Whaaaaaaaat? Meeeeeeee? Lie? Never." She replied innocently.

"Uh-huh." Dave responded, one eyebrow raised.

"Jeez, wow, you're annoying. Did you not here the announcement? We're not allowed to harm the," she looked pointedly at Dave, "_Newbies_. I'm not stupid. It's not like I'm just gonna murder him or something."

Jade jumped in, "I don't think-"

"It's fine, guys, I'll be there in a sec." John interrupted.

The three balked at him. He just grinned and said, "It's okay, you dont have to be so worried about me. I'm hard to catch! Like the wind! Pchoooo!" He did a dorky pose and laughed.

Jade leaned over to Dave and whispered, "He sure breaks wind often enough..."

Dave sputtered a laugh, then hesitantly turned around and left for the cells. Rose and Jade soon followed. The moment they dissapeared behind the heavy metal door, Vrisk spun on John and grinned.

"Finally! Thought they'd never leave!"

"So... friendly advice?"

"Nah." She said, gathering her hair with one hand and moving it to her left shoulder. "But... friendly enough..."

She grinned amd advanced on John, who backed up a little bit, against the wall. Vriska pinned him there, her arms lighly forcing his shoulders up against the grey concrete.

"Uh... Vriska!?"

"Yeah, John?" She said, leaning in closer than he would have liked.

He gulped quietly and tried to push himself into the wall. "Vriska, I uh... _I-dont-really-feel-comfortable-with-this!_" He squeaked quickly.

She just laughed got so close her breath stirred John's hair.

"Vriska, _STOP_!" He yelled, his voice cracking at the end.

And she did. She backed up a little, then awkwardly scooted away from John and the wall. He leaned up against the wall for a moment, taking a deep breath and staring at Vriska. Both had a slight blush covering their cheeks, and and awkward silence developed between the two.

Vriska breaks it. "So... Friendly advice?"

John lets out a surprised puff of air and laughs a little. "Uh... Sure."

In the following few minutes, Vriska led John down a hall to see some prisoners in cells as they passed. It made John's stomach churn to just looks them. Most were misshapen creatures, failed genetic experiments. He saw one young girl, probably a year or two beneath him, huddled, shivering in the corner of her cell. She had patches of green scales covering parts of her body, and slimy, thin skin stretching between her fingers and toes. Every few seconds she would cough up a small amount of blood. Another was a boy, maybe 17 years old, who seemed completely normal, until they passed right by him, when he looked up to show pure black eyes, and the apparent absence of his mouth. Vriska looked over at him.

"That guy used to have green eyes. They operated on his mouth and eyes while he was completely conscious," She said with little emotion.

John said nothing.

"Here's your advice. Don't fight. Don't run. Don't show them anything. From who you've met so far, you may not find everything so horrible. But just trust me. This is your worst nightmare. They aren't afraid to hurt you, or hurt your friends, or hurt anyone you used to know, just to poke your nerves. Be. Prepared."

Then she dropped John off at his cell.

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**Haha, yeah that was awful. I just... I don't know. It was better when I planned it in my head. So, review, and it encourages me to write! Something big is coming!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, look an update! And it actually progresses the story! Also note this is Pre-accident Mituna. I made my own take on him for this, because we don't see nearly enough of Mituna from before whatever happened. Also, the next few chapters are all happening at the same time. I think I'll have one for Tavros, one for Nepeta, and hm... Maybe one for Feferi... Or Eridan... One of those two. Anywho! Thanks for all the favorites and follows and reviews! They mean a lot to me!**

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Sollux walked quietly to his testing room, pushing the door open to see Mituna giving the nurse the finger as she turned around. He saw Sollux enter and snickered.

"Hey, Sol." Mituna had a lisp, like Sollux, but his was much more subtle. "Sup?"

"The usual. Living a nightmare. Hating life." He responded, "What are these brain dead slave masters subjecting us to today?"

Mituna's smile dropped. "I'm running the maze... You're going to the operating room."

Mituna was smart, and honestly one of the most popular trolls in project Alternia. He had a lot of friends, and some of the workers even liked his carefree, fun personality. And Sollux knew him better than just about anyone, which meant he could hear it in Tuna's voice that he was worried. Not for himself, but for Sollux.

"Hey, don't even think about me. I'll survive." _Probably_.

"Quiet, you two. I'm not in the mood for your meaningless chatter." The nurse, Dr. Rea, snapped at them, her back still turned.

"Shut your own face hole, ginger." Mituna shot back at the red headed woman.

"You. Will not. _Speak_." She breathed angrily.

"Please don't make her mad." Sollux muttered under his breath.

Making Dr. Rea mad had consequences. He knew from personal experience. Once, a month or two ago, Sollux had, on a bad day, spoken off to her. It had included some... _Creative_ insults and a couple threats and... He might have just _attacked_ her. But that was beside the point. After that she beat him. She chained him to a wall and whipped him. _With an actual whip_. It was... Not one of Sollux's best days. One time, she _literally_ had Mituna in hot water. When he was washing his hands, she discreetly did something to the pipes and _whoops_, suddenly scalding water was pouring down on Mituna's hands, burning them and leaving him with incredibly sore hands for nearly a week.

But, Mituna being himself, replied, "Well, I'm talking right now aren't I? So apperently I _will_ speak."

"Captor, don't try my patience."

"What patience? From what I know, and I know quite a lot, you have about as much patience as a goldfish has an attention span."

Sollux hissed quietly at Mituna, "Shut _up_."

Dr. Rea took a deep breath, obviously directed at Mituna, and growled, "Captor..."

"You could call me by my first name once in a while y'know. Unless you're just to dull to remember the name that's plainly written on the-"

Suddenly, Dr. Rea had Mituna's arm twisted painfully in her hand. She was faster than any other human being Sollux had ever seen... But of course he hadn't seen many.

"Don't cross me _Captor_." She spat, then released him.

Mituna didn't talk again.

Five minutes later, Sollux was being walked down the dim hallways by a man in a black gaurd uniform. A sense of dread filled him that he hadn't allowed himself to feel around his brother. He was going to the operating room. They... They hardly ever even put anyone under for the surgery. Sometimes they put the Makaras to sleep to keep them from... Killing the scientists. But... Other than that, hardly ever.

The man pushed him through the door, and the harsh white light blinded him for a moment, before He saw the sickening sight of the sterile metal table, adorned with restraining clams and a small tray filled with sharp tools and instruments. Sollux almost puked. He walked numbly to the table and lay down, just hoping it was fast. He wasn't so naive as to wish for little pain.

"Ah, hello, Mr. Captor, We've had a scientific breakthrough and you are the lucky one who gets to test it!" The scienitst ginned. For most, it might have seemed friendly almost, like a doctor or a veterinarian. But it only made Sollux grimace.

"Just do it fast." He muttered, unconsciously gripping the sided of the table til his knuckles turned white. Or as close to white as his grey pigment would allow.

"No worries, Sollux, we're actually putting you to sleep for this one. Brain operations are dangerous, you know."

The rush of relief Sollux felt froze in his veins as he heard the words 'brain operations.' His yellow tinted blood turned to ice, and his heart dropped to his knees.

He took a shaky breath and sighed, "Okay." He would have said more but his throat had a huge lump in it, which made it difficult to force out words.

The scientist slipped a needle into his neck, and the nervous, frightened troll lost consciousness.

~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~

Sollux woke to a splitting headache, and he nearly fell off the examination table.

"Woah, hey, don't fall!" Laughed Mituna as he rushed over. "How's your head?"

His voice pounded on Sollux's skull like a sledge hammer, but he managed to utter the words, "feel... like... crap."

He wondered for a moment where they were, and why Mituna was there, but the thought was forced out of his head by a wave of pain. He cringed and gripped his head, waiting for it to pass.

"Pretty bad, huh?" Mituna said worriedly. "You've been out for a few hours since the operation, and they let me keep an eye on you, since they didn't have any one to spare."

The pain subsided, and Sollux hesitantly tried to sit up and managed it, but not without a fierce attack of nausea, and his stomach did an uncomfortable flip. He leaned over and wretched into the trash can, a disgusting, yellowish, half digested version of his breakfast spilling into the grey, dull container. Mituna frowned and helped Sollux lean against the wall, then sat down next to him.

"So, they were telling me about the procedure. Something about psionic power. I think its a load of crap."

Sollux nodded distantly, kind of hoping he would fall asleep again, as a relief from pain.

"They told me if it worked on you, they would do it to me too. You think it worked?"

"No." Sollux managed. "Just... Pain... A lot... Of pain."

"Ah. They said it'd take you a few days to recover. Give or take. Oh... They also said to notify them when you woke up... Crap I forgot."

He stood up and walked over to the little speaker near the door and pressed a button, speaking into it. "Hey, Sollux woke up. Sent the caretaker, if you please. And..." He looked over at the trash can. "A new trash bag."

This made Sollux smile, just a little.

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**So, like, love, hate? Tell me your opinion! I enjoyed writing this chapter. And Its actually pretty important! Review, thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi again! Sorry for the wait, I was busy with school. Anyway, I was stumped with the other Dancestor chapters, so I just skipped it and continued to advance the plot. Ok, so here we go. This chapter is kinda short.**

* * *

An announcement rang through the halls, grating on Sollux's ears painfully.

_"It is now 12:30, and all experiments are to report to the mess hall for lunch." _

Mituna had left about 15 minutes ago to attend to something else, much to his complaint, so Sollux had to fair on his own. He stood up hesitantly, wobbling a little as his head spun. Putting one hand to the wall to steady himself, he made his way to and out the door. Without even registering it, he stumbled in the direction of the lunch room. He could tell he was making very little progress by the way his feet sounded irregular and off beat as they tapped the floor. It annoyed him a bit, but the feeling was swamped by his killer headache, and the fact that he was pretty sure he was drifting in and out of consciousness. He clumsily tripped over nothing, and would have fallen on his face, if not for Aradia, who turned the corner just then and caught him with a surprised, "Woah!"

Aradia was a little bit taller than Sollux, but not by much, and she was always smiling. She had long, thick, wavy hair, and her horns were shaped like a ram's. Her eyes were a beautiful burgundy color that Sollux thought put his red and blue ones to shame.

She helped him upright and let him lean against her.

"Thanks, AA."

"Sollux, you look horrible! What happened?" She asked, concern written plainly on her face.

"Oh, just a brain operation. 'Suppose they thought it was a good idea." He responded bitterly, relying heavily on Aradia as they walked.

"Hm." She shook her head slightly, reaching over with the hand that wasn't holding up Sollux to run it though his hair. She pulled it back when he winced. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine." He replied, a little distantly.

They arrived at the lunchroom and sat down next to Karkat and Terezi. Aradia went to get her's and Sollux's food. He put his head down on the table, using his folded arms as a pillow.

Karkat looked at him and commented, "You look like crap."

"So I've been told." Sollux mumbled into the table.

Over at another table, Mituna spotted Sollux and turned to a girl who looked like Terezi, but older. This girl, Latula, had her arm draped nonchalantly over Mituna's shoulder as they ate.

He smiled at her and said, "Sorry Tula, I'm gonna go sit with Sol, okay?"

She pulled her arm away and grinned back at him, "Cool. See you later?"

"Yeah." He leaned over and gave her a short kiss before getting up and taking his tray over to the table where he saw Sollux.

Not many of the trolls could actually manage a stable relationship in their chaotic surroundings, but Latula and Mituna had been together for quite a long time, considering. Aradia and this guy named Equius had been together a while back, but it didn't last.

Karkat noticed Mituna and scooted over a little so he could sit. It was kind of unusual for there to be more than three or four people at this particular table, but no one really noticed. Aradia came back with two trays of watery soup and dry cornbread. Sollux accepted the tray with a quiet thanks, but didn't eat anything.

"So. What's up with those new kids?" Aradia asked.

"Just new experiments." Karkat replied dismissively.

"Duh. I mean, what are their names and stuff?"

He tipped his head. "Uh... John... Jade, I think. Um, the other guy has some D name. Derek? No... Whatever. Then the other girl... Lily? I don't know, it was some kind of flower."

"John, Jade, Dave, and Rose." Terezi recited easily, as soon as Karkat was done struggling to remember. She smirked at him.

"I'm bad with names, okay?"

"Can you not be so loud?" Sollux grumbled.

"Oh, I'm Sorry was my natural voice level bothering your pouting?" He responded, a little louder.

"Dude, don't even be that way. I'm not in the mood."

"I see, so Sol's in a mood so-"

Mituna leaned forward and whispered something to Karkat, who's expression changed from irritated to slightly upset. "Oh, hey sorry, I just-"

"Ugh, don't appologize. It's fine."

Silence.

"Sollux, you need to eat." Karkat said, noticing Sollux's tray.

He lifted his head and gave his food a look of overall discomfort. Just the thought of eating made him want to throw up. "No, I'll pass."

"Oh my _gog_, Sollux, you are _not_ going to be that way. You _will_ eat your food, and you _won't_ complain about it."

"Yes, _mother_." Sollux replied, deciding he wasn't going to argue. Besides, it was kind of sweet that Karkat cared.

He took a small bite of cornbread and forced it down his throat. It felt like wet cement in his mouth. He managed to get down several spoonfulls of soup and a bite more of cornbread before the end of lunch.

_~| Time skip brought to you our resident time players |~_

Three days later 

"Holy. Crap."

"I know right?"

"Sollux, how long has this been happening?"

"Started this morning-"

"Crap, that means it worked! Who else have you shown?"

"Just Mituna."

"So they don't know?"

"No, but they'll find out."

Karkat stared some more at the plastic cup Sollux was levitating about two inches above the table. It glowed red and blue, the exact colors of Sollux's eyes. Though Karkat thought it was kind of cool, the look on Sol's face showed stress.

"What's wrong?"

"If it worked... That means they'll do it on Tuna too."

* * *

**like, love, hate? Ok, so review! Tell me if you want to see more of some characters and I'll try to write some about them. I swear this was actually supposed to revolve around mostly Karkat, but then, whoops, the Captors happened...**


	6. Chapter 6

**So I felt bad about not updating in like a week and a half last time, so I rushed to throw another chapter together. it was originally going to be some troll or kid shenanigans... But this is what came out instead... So some needs to take my keyboard away from me.**

* * *

Mituna stumbled through the door, shoved by some gaurd, and haphazardly took several steps, which crossed back and forth and nearly tripped him. Sollux's head snapped up and he jumped forward, ready to catch Mituna if he fell. He wondered why his brother was even awake, much less walking, right after the operation. It might have been a good sign, had Mituna not promptly vomited into the trash can and cried out in pain. His eyes were bloodshot, his breaths loud and ragged. He kept blinking rapidly and coughing, hunched over, barely able to keep his feet under him. His whole body shook violently, as of impossible weight was resting on his shoulders, though he carried nothing. His shaggy hair hung over his eyes, slightly damp with sweat.

"Mituna? Tuna, are you okay?" Sollux asked as he rushed forward to help him onto the floor.

"No." He choked, panting heavily.

"It's fine, you're fine. Just a lot of pain and then cool powers." Sollux told him, as much for his own benefit as Mituna's.

"No. Different. Risky."

Sollux didn't even let this penetrate his brain. All he was allowing himself to think right now was, _it's fine, it's fine, don't freak out. Don't freak out. Just do what you can and it'll be fine. Don't freak out. It's fine. It'll all be okay. _

Mituna bit his lip so hard he bled. "Where's Latula? Kurloz?"

Kurloz Makara was Mituna's best friend. They hung out together when they could, but there always seemed to be a tight leash around the Makaras. Nonetheless, they seemed to balance each other, like good friends do. He and Mituna were really close, but Sollux just didn't trust the guy. Mituna did though, and Sollux trusted Mituna.

"I... I don't know. Why?"

He shook his head. "No reason." Mituna groaned, breaths coming in huge, desperate gasps, sweat beading down his face.

Mituna was at that point where most people's only thought would be _make it stop make it stop make it stop_, but he couldn't keep his mind off Latula, off Kurloz, off his other friends, off Sollux. He had this awful, gut wrenching feeling this was the last time he would be able to talk to them.

Letting his head drop backwards against the wall, he shut his eyes and took two or three deep breaths.

"Sollux." He breathed.

When Sollux spoke, his voice sounded small and scared. It hadn't sounded like that in a very long time. "Yeah?"

"Love you, bro."

Sollux swallowed a lump in his throat. "Oh gog, Tuna... Please don't... Don't get all sentimental like this is the last time you can..." He choked on his words, not wanting to finish that sentence.

"Just listen," he replied, after taking a few shuddering breaths. "I need you to do me a favor. Be my note, okay? Tell Tulip I love her. Tell her I'll always love her. Tell Kurloz to keep it up, to not give up on his girl. Tell... Tell Cronus I wasn't really mad at him. Tell him we're still friends. Tell-"

He stopped and went rigid for a moment, sucking in air through his teeth, then continued, "Tell everyone to get out of here. Tell them we've waited too long."

"But..." Sollux stifled a sob. "You can't just... "

Mituna let out a strangled cry and gripped his head in his hands. Sollux didn't know what to do.

"Sollux..." Mituna sounded like he was fighting himself over his next words. In his mind, they seemed selfish and pitiful. He didn't want to spend his last moments begging for something that might only hurt his brother more. But... If he really was about to go, and deep down he knew he was, he should say it. At least one person should know his final wish.

His voice sounded different this time, broken. The strong, fighting, not-wanting-to-scare-his-brother Mituna was replaced by what was really there right then. Mituna was scared, terrified actually.

"Sollux, don't... Don't forget me. Please?"

Sollux's breath caught in his throat. "Don't say stuff like that. Don't act like you're dying-"

"Sollux." Mituna choked, and red and blue sparks flew. "Please."

Finally, several tears spilled over Sollux's cheeks. "I won't forget. Never."

Mituna wrapped Sollux into his arms and squeezed tight. It didn't feel right to thank Sollux, not right now, so instead he said the only thing that could really explain how he was feeling right then, about him, about the others, about this place, about everything.

"_I'm sorry._" He whispered quietly into Sollux's ear.

Then there was an explosion of psionic energy, sending Mituna's head cracking back against the wall, and pushing Sollux apart from his brother. For both, the world blurred, then blacked out.

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**... I swear I wasn't listening to sad music or anything. This is just what came out when I started writing. So... please review! They help me update!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Happy Easter! Originally this chapter was going to be Latula finding Sol and Tuna after what happened in the last chapter, but after rewriting it like three times, it still didn't work out, so I tried something else. I also decided that as an Easter present to you guys, I would make it a fluff chapter to relieve some tension that I've been building up. So, without further ado, here's my Easter present to all of my wonderful, wonderful readers.**

* * *

Sollux woke up lying on some kind of soft contraption. He realized with confusion that it was a bed. He had never actually slept on one before. He liked it.

He noticed the lack of a gaurd and the constant beep, beep of a heart monitor. Despite his entire life situation, this was probably the weirdest thing that had ever happened to him. Sollux had never slept on a bed, had never woken up feeling well rested. It was nice.

He didnt remember what happened. Why was he here? Suddenly he recongnized the prescence of another person in the room.

"Who's there?"

"It's me."

"Oh. Hey AA."

Aradia moved to stand next to Sollux, smiling as always. Despite the fact that her hair was in a mess, and her eyes showed clear fatigue, she looked beautiful. It was so strange, how she could look like an Angel, in a place so close to hell.

"How are you feeling?"

"Great. Better than I have in a long time actually." Sollux responded.

Aradia sighed happily. "Good."

Sollux studied her face for a moment. She looked exhausted.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Uh... Two days. That's how long you've been out."

"Aradia..." Sollux thought for a moment, wondering if he would get in trouble for what he wanted to suggest. He scooted over a little under the light blanket and patted on top of it. "You deserve sleep."

She hesitated for a moment, like she was also thinking about getting in trouble, but then lay down on top of the sheet. She fell asleep almost instantly, on her side facing away from Sollux. The bed was rather small, so they had to get really close to fit. Sollux was stiff at first, trying not to touch her, but with time, he relaxed. It wasnt long before both were sound asleep.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Two hours later, Kory Royin opened the door to one of the many rooms in the facility to see subjects Sollux Captor and Aradia Megido cuddled up together on the little wrought iron bed. His arm was draped over her waist, and his head was buried in her hair. Kory, a caretaker for Project Alternia, was a gentle soul, and she thought this was probably the most adorable thing she had ever seen. She knew they could get in trouble for doing this, so she quietly slipped out the door and put the "do not enter" sign on the small hook.

Sollux groggily opened his eyes to see a mess of black hair. He shifted a little, and realized that he and Aradia had snuggled up together while they slept. He flushed light yellow, but didn't move, trying not to wake her up. Her breaths were quiet and deep, and she smiled a little in her sleep, like she was having a good dream.

This thought made Sollux smile. He tried to remember what he had been dreaming about. Suddenly, he remembered why he was even here.

_Mituna, oh gog, Mituna._

His heart sped up just a little bit, and he took a sharp breath through his mouth. He had to struggle to stay still and not wake Aradia. She woke anyway.

Her soft, sleepy voice drifted over to him as she murmured, "Sollux? What's the matter?"

"Hmm? Oh... Nothing. Go back to sleep," he said quietly, and Aradia was tempted to do so.

Instead, she turned over to face Sollux and asked again, "What's wrong?"

"Uh... Do you know where Mituna is?" He said hesitantly.

She nodded, still a little sleepy. "He was badly injured, but alive. I don't think... I don't think he's woken up yet."

Sollux felt a huge wave of relief, like a tightness in his chest being released. He sighed contently.

Aradia smiled, her breath stirring his hair. It was then that Sollux realized how close they were. He didn't care. In fact, he kind of liked it. "Thanks, AA."

"For what?"

"For staying here. I... I like it when you're here."

Aradia's smile widened, and she looked breathtakingly beautiful when she was happy. And then she leaned in kissed him. Sollux froze for a moment, overcome by shock. A million things ran through his head, and his stomach filled with butterflies, but then he kissed her back. Everything else melted away, and it was just him and Araida, _kissing_. It only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity, yet not long enough.

Just as they broke away, Sollux's stomach growled, and he blushed, embarrassed.

Araida giggled, "Hungry?"

She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek before swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up. She went over to a small cabinet and pulled out an apple.

"Holy crap, is that fruit?" Sollux asked, eyes wide.

"Yup. I couldn't believe it either." She tossed him the delicacy and sat down next to him again.

Sollux took a bite of the apple and savored it in his mouth. He looked up at Aradia. "Are we... Are we... A thing, now? Uh... I mean, if you-"

"Yeah." She said softly, and leaned on his shoulder as he crunched his apple.

Right then, Sollux was more overjoyed than he had ever been in his entire, miserable life.

* * *

**What did you think? Your welcome SolAra/AraSol shippers! I... I really liked writing this chapter. Review, please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry this took so long. I've been busy. Three plays and lots of testing. But, then I realized that I should be a good person and update my fan-fiction... Then I wrote this and realized I'm a horrible person. Anyway... Here it is, and it's got Karkat in the second part, because this was getting VERY Captor-centric.**

**Edit: So, I don't know how it happened, but for some reason Dr. Winters' name was disappearing from the chapter every time it was written. I fixed it... So if you noticed and weird gaps where a name should have been, it was supposed to say Dr. Winters.**

* * *

Mituna groaned as he slowly woke up. He had half woken up many times in the past few days, and had come to like being asleep and unaware. He had grown aware, though, that something was very different, and it had begun to form a pit of unease in his stomach that dragged him further and further into consciousness each time he woke.

_Something's different. So very different, yet almost undetectable. Almost the same._

He opened his eyes and looked around the room. Same grey walls, same pale sheets, same quiet heart monitor that had been there for days. Nothing different outside.

It was so quiet, so calm, Mituna was tempted to let himself drift back off into blissful sleep, but he forced himself to keep focus. It was hard. His head was fuzzy.

He realized with a small panic that he couldn't recall most anything from his past. He remembered Sollux. He remembered Latula. He remembered Kurloz. But... All of it was blurry, out of focus, just out of reach.

Mituna closed his eyes for half a second to gather his thoughts. He hadn't ever really needed to do that before. He was a fast thinker, quick witted and sharp, but right now he could barely string coherent thoughts together. To comfort himself, he rationalized that it must be the medication or something.

He tried to focus on something, anything, other than things he couldn't remember. He focused on the grey walls. He tried to discern what shade of grey they were, what type of paint, what material. On a normal day, this would take him five minutes tops. He strained his brain for fifteen minutes on it, then gave up. It was just on the tip of tongue. He knew that he knew the information, but he just couldn't figure it out.

Mituna took a shaky breath, on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Then another, then another. He sat up slowly, trying to calm himself. He wasn't in any pain, which only made him nervous. It meant that nothing was physically wrong.

_Or you're on a lot of medication_. He told himself. _That would explain everything. Including the dizziness._

Mituna blinked several times, trying to focus his vision. It wasn't working. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. Swaying a little, he wandered over to a small mirror and glanced into it. His head was bandaged, and his eyes were a bit clouded, but other than that he looked fine. He dragged his fingers distantly across the mirror, leaving little tracks in the dust. Glancing at the door, Mituna decided he would go and see Sollux.

_Yes... See Sollux. Sollux can help me figure things out. Sollux will-_

The door was locked. Mituna jiggled the handle frantically. A lump rose in his throat. Some part of him knew this feeling was completely out of place, that this was no reason to get upset, but it didn't stop the wave of panic.

_Need to see Sollux. Why won't they let me see Sollux?_

He banged his fists against the door, but no one came. He screamed. Still no one. Frantic tears formed in his eyes, and he kicked the door, which only hurt. He shook the handle harshly, angry at it for being locked.

"LET ME OUT! SOLLUX! SOLLUUUUX!"

Mituna panted and scraped at the door with his fingernails, but the quiet room didn't change at all, much unlike the turmoil in his mind. He hit his head against the door in frustration, and a sharp pain rang through his whole body, turning everything white. He collapsed on the floor, yellow tears leaking over his cheeks.

The door was yanked open, and Mituna sensed quick movement as someone crouched next to him, rolling him onto his back.

"Oh crap. C'mon, chief, you gotta get up."

"C-Cronus?" Mituna stuttered, recalling a name.

"NURSE! NURSE!" Cronus called down the hall.

And then Mituna blacked out.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Karkat collapsed on the plastic chair as he emerged from the maze. He panted loudly, severely out of breath. The soles of his feet burned from running on the heated ground, and he was blinking sweat out of his eyes. He was lightheaded and nauseated from chemical injections.

"I'm not impressed with your performance, Karkat." said as he entered the room. "Lots of wrong turns. Slowed dowm too many times. If Im correct, and I am, you even stopped once. "

Dr. Walkins was the scientist who was in charge if the maze. Everyone despised him. He created new patterns each time they ran, and put in nasty obstacles and challenges. Today, the floor slowly heated up until it burned Karkat's feet with every step.

Karkat groaned quietly, not able to speak through his aching lungs.

"Karkat, I need you to get up. Head to your room and tell to do... Chemical 17B."

Karkat slowly got to his feet and left without a word. Today was a long one, he decided. Already, he'd had several chemical tests, and he'd participated in a psycological test, and he'd run the maze. He was exhausted, dizzy, and numb. Worst he'd felt in a while.

He rounded the corner and came face to face with Nepeta, who smiled weakly. Nepeta was an inch or two shorter than Karkat, and her horns were almost like cat ears, if they weren't so round. She had olive green eyes and messy, short hair. Right now, she looked worse than Karkat did. Not just battered and bruised, but ready to collapse with sheer exhaustion. But, nonetheless, her eyes sparkled when she saw Karkat.

"Hi Karkitty."

"You look horrible." He responded bluntly.

She giggled a little, "You're one to talk."

Karkat sighed, "Where are you headed?"

"The maze."

"Run lightly." He advised, then brushed past Nepeta and on to his room.

When he got there, Kankri was sitting on the table, pale faced, gripping the edges of the table with white knuckles. Dr. Winters had to fingers under his chin, trying to get him to look up.

"Kankri, Kankri, look at me. I need you to look me in the eyes. Good, mmhmmm."

Kankri was obviously on pain. Karkat, after years in his company, had learned to easily read Kankri. When he was irritated, when he was sympathetic, when he really needed to pee...

"Hello Karkat," Kankri said, then grimaced and shook his head as if to say, _bad idea._

"Hi," Karkat responded. "Chemical 17B, I guess."

Dr. Winters looked away from Kankri and nodded, then told him to sit down and wait. Karkat sat obediently as turned her attention back to Kankri, who groaned quietly. He watched as she took Kankri's pulse, took a few samples, then helped him off the table into the remaining chair. Now that he was right next to Karkat, Karkat could see that Kankri looked sickly and weak. Karkat suddenly thought that he and Nepeta may have gotten off lightly.

"Alright Karkat, come here. 17B, huh? They must be getting bored with you."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Karkat asked, worried.

"This one can be... Well... Let's say its one of the chemicals we'll use on more disposable subjects. It's... Very... Uh... Results may vary."

Karkat ground his teeth together and looked at the floor. Of course, of course they would use dangerous chemicals on him. He was just so 'basic' in their eyes. He didn't have vision eightfold or bioluminescence or gills or even colorful blood. He was almost human, and therefore 'boring.'

"Fine. Just get it over with."

Dr. Winters pulled out a syringe with a pretty blue liquid, and carefully released it into Karkat's arm.

At first, all he felt was the cool liquid spreading throughout his body. Then, with a jolt, his whole body felt like it was on fire. Needles stabbed the inside of his stomach and mallets beat on his head. The world spun, swam, and rippled. Everything hurt. He gasped and doubled over where he sat, and Dr. Winters scribbled something on a notepad, a slightly concerned look on her face. Karkat moaned as the pain ebbed enough for him to move. Unfortunately, he was still extremely dizzy, and slipped right off the table and onto the floor. The floor was cool. It felt good.

Karkat didn't dare open his mouth, for fear he might throw up, and he just really didn't want to deal with that. He felt like he had held up the entire world for days. His limbs felt like lead, and his whole body ached. He wanted to curl up into a tiny ball and fade to nothing, but he couldn't move. Even twitching felt like an impossible task.

"Karkat!" Exlaimed a worried voice, who Karkat thought was Kankri. "Karkat, can you hear me?"

It may have been seconds or hours, Karkat couldn't tell, before he gathered the energy to nod weakly. He felt a cool hand against his forehead that he guessed was Dr. Winters. She felt for a heartbeat on his wrist, then scooped his light form into her arms and lay him back on the table, which made Karkat severely nauseated. He moaned quietly, but didn't move.

Dr. Winters pulled out several instruments and began doing some tests. Kankri managed to pick out some stuff from her notes.

_High fever._

_ Obvious pain._

_ Rapid heartbeat._

"Karkat, can you tell me how you feel?" She asked, sounding like she would rather be helping him than asking him questions.

Karkat tried to answer, but all he could manage was low groan. He was still dizzy, so he opened his eyes to try and anchor himself. It didn't help.

Karkat didn't know how long he lay there. A long time, probably, but eventually, he was able to shakily sit up after emmense effort. By then had gone, and Kankri was asleep in his chair. The world had stopped spinning, but Karkat hardly noticed its absence with the nausea, aching body, and blazing fever. Right then, though he didn't want to admit it, he just really wanted some company.

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**Like, love, hate? Tell me what you think! Also, sorry, but I may put this on a short hiatus just until school ends because I just have so much going on. I mean, I REALLY love writing this Fic, but I do need to do other stuff. Ok, so, review! I love you all!**


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